- Will you sell or share my information with third parties?
No. With Plaxo, your information is your own. You decide how and with whom you share your information. We will only use your information in the manner described by our Terms of Service. You can be assured that:
- Your information will not be shared, sold, or distributed to any third parties (unless required by law).
- Your information will not be used to send you spam or any other unsolicited commercial e-mail.
- Your information will not be used to maintain a spam mail listing.
- How does Plaxo make money?
Plaxo offers a line of free contact management services to help you update your address book and connect with friends, family, and colleagues. Our business model is based on offering premium products and services to our growing user base. In December 2003, Plaxo VIP Support was introduced and is already generating revenues for the company. Plaxo 2.0, released in May 2004, introduced a second premium service -- a Yahoo! powered Web search on the Plaxo Toolbar inside Outlook and Outlook Express. Expect to see more premium products and services from Plaxo this year including:
- An address book "cleaner" that scans your address book to find duplicates and errors.
- A meeting manager that enables members to schedule meetings with others online.
- Opt-in directories for alumni lists and other organizations that allow consenting users to access each other's address books.
However, our current free version, Plaxo 2.0, will always remain free, allowing us to raise brand awareness and continue to provide our service to current and future members.
We will never sell or share your contact information in order to bring in revenue. Currently, we're focused on building a profitable, viable business and community that our members can trust. Compromising that trust by selling or sharing member information would not only violate our own Privacy Policy, a legally binding document, but would undermine our own code of ethics and ability to become a successful company.
- I am a Plaxo member. Why was my address book automatically updated when I did not send an Update Request?
When one of your contacts is also a Plaxo member, we'll keep you both in sync and up-to-date automatically. Plaxo will update existing entries in your address book only in the following circumstances:
Scenario #1: A contact in your address book responds to your Update Request.
This scenario is probably the most common way your address book gets updated. Let's say you send an Update Request to Abby, and she responds with updated contact information, Plaxo will automatically send you an Alert and update her entry in your address book.
Scenario #2: A contact who uses Plaxo changes their information by editing their Plaxo cards.
Let's say Bob is a contact who is also a Plaxo member. Whenever Bob edits his public Plaxo Cards or any private Plaxo Cards that you have access to, Plaxo will automatically send you an Alert and update his entry in your address book. No Update Requests have to be sent on your part.
Scenario #3: You recently joined Plaxo and we detected contacts who are already using Plaxo.
When you first join Plaxo, we'll detect whether you have other Plaxo members in your address book. Plaxo will automatically update these entries with the public Plaxo Card information for these Plaxo members. If these members do not have a public Plaxo Card, no update occurs. No Update Requests have to be sent on your part.
Scenario #4: An existing contact recently joins Plaxo and has new information.
Chris is an existing contact in your address book who recently joins Plaxo. Soon after he joins, Plaxo will automatically update his entry with his public Plaxo Card information. If Chris does not have a public Plaxo Card, no update occurs. No Update Requests have to be sent on your part.
Scenarios #3 and #4 typically cause the greatest confusion for new Plaxo members. Often, members do not know everyone in their address books or have forgotten who the contact is. When Plaxo updates these contacts' information, members may mistakenly think that Plaxo has added an entry into their address book without them knowing.
To verify that a contact existed in your address book prior to joining Plaxo, please view the backup of your original address book information. This backup was created when you installed Plaxo and is located in the folder "Contacts Backup" or "Plaxo Backup." You should be able to locate the original contact within the folder.
- Why did Plaxo send me an Update Request?
Plaxo members send Update Requests to automate a process they manually do every day—exchange contact information. The member who contacted you may be a friend, family member, or a colleague. Update Requests not only inform you of who has your contact information in their address book, they also show you what information they have.
Please note that Plaxo does not initiate Update Requests. Update Requests are initiated and optionally personalized by Plaxo members who have you in their address book. Plaxo is simply the mechanism that sends and processes these e-mails at the instruction of the Plaxo member.
Plaxo treats member information, including address books, as the property of the Plaxo member. We will not add, update, or delete the entries within a member's address book without his or her permission. However, if any person—member or non-member—requests to have their information removed from a Plaxo member's address book, as a courtesy we offer to contact that member to ask them to voluntarily remove the person's information from their address book.
Furthermore, all Update Requests include an opt-out link where you may opt-out from receiving Update Requests from one or all-Plaxo members. You can also opt-out of Plaxo Update Request e-mails by visiting our opt-out page: https://www.plaxo.com/opt_out.
- Do I have to become a member to respond to an Update Request?
No. While there are significant benefits to becoming a Plaxo member, you do not have to be one to respond to Update Requests. When you respond to an Update Request, your information will be automatically updated in the Plaxo member's address book and will not shared with anyone else.
- How can I stop receiving Plaxo Update Requests?
Plaxo provides non-members the ability to add their e-mail address to our Do Not Contact list. All Update Requests include an opt-out link where you may unsubscribe from receiving Update Requests from a single member or from all Plaxo members.
This opt-out page will also give you more information about the Plaxo member who sent the e-mail. Chances are this member can explain how you know each other if given the opportunity. From this page, you can ask the member for more information.
If you'd prefer not to opt-out of Plaxo e-mails, you can consider becoming a Plaxo member to let Plaxo handle Update Requests for you. You will never have to respond or fill out your contact information again, and you decide how and to whom you share your information.
If you do choose to opt-out, please respond to the opt-out confirmation e-mail to verify that you no longer want to receive Plaxo e-mails at the e-mail address listed. You can also opt-out of Plaxo e-mails by visiting our opt-out page at https://www.plaxo.com/opt_out.
We're working to ensure that our network is used ethically and according to our Terms of Service. If you feel that a member's actions violate our terms of service, please let us know by contacting us at .
- What will happen to my information if Plaxo is sold or acquired?
One of the unique provisions of the Plaxo Privacy Policy is the ownership rights it grants members regarding their information. As a Plaxo member, you have the right to access, update, and delete your information at any time—even in the event of a merger or acquisition.
Our privacy policy states that if we plan to use your information in a manner different from the manner stated at the time you joined Plaxo, you would have a choice as to whether or not we use your information in this new way. Plaxo will proactively notify you by sending an e-mail to your primary e-mail address and providing a reasonable amount of time for you to respond, typically 30 days. If you do not agree with the new policy, you will retain the right to completely delete your information from our service.
If we are unable to notify you because you declined all member communications, we will assume that you do not wish your information to be used in the new manner, and the information will continue to be used only under the conditions originally agreed upon.
